Designed Trial
by Kagome-reincarnation
Summary: Rikuo seeks out the firefly-capturing Kazahaya as Kakei and Saiga speak of the two. Oneshot.


Disclaimer: The characters within this story all belong to CLAMP.  
Warnings: Mentions of yaoi, cursing, subtext.  
Summary: Rikuo seeks out the firefly-capturing Kazahaya as Kakei and Saiga speak of the two.  
Completed: January 9, 2010

* * *

**Designed Trial  
**by: Kagome-reincarnation

* * *

"Kakei is waiting for you. Hurry up and get to the store." Rikuo had told his fellow worker. He'd turned his back on him after throwing him out of his bed – what had the boy been doing there anyways? – and jeered at him to get him to leave.

"Goddamn you!!" he'd heard the other boy curse him as the sound of the curtain rings ran across the bar that ran across the top of their room. It was the divisor between his part of the room and Kazahaya's part. It was the only way they could get any decent sense of privacy, after all.

Rikuo had closed his eyes, doing his best to ignore the sounds of Kazahaya clothing himself. As he'd finally begun to doze off, a rather loud cry of, "Uh-oh! I need to jet! If I'm late, Kakei-san'll dock my pay!" brought him to full wakefulness once more.

With a dissatisfied groan, Rikuo had simply rolled over, refusing to get up even at the angry slam the front door gave off.

He would regret that later, he thought – Kazahaya was sure to do something to his food.

But he hadn't been expecting to be woken by the rather loud and incessant knocks on his door. He'd ignored it, figuring that Kazahaya would eventually start calling for him – or would find his key. After a moment, he heard the key turn in the lock, and grinned to himself. The other boy would insult him soon, demanding to know why he hadn't opened the door.

He'd been expecting an irate Kazahaya, so he hadn't bothered turning towards the bedroom door, knowing the irate male would simply rage at him. It didn't occur to him that the footsteps were quiet and soft instead of the loud stomping that accompanied Kazahaya's anger.

"Rikuo," came a soft voice. Rikuo frowned, turning to face the owner of the Green Drugstore whose voice did _not_, in any way, sound like Kazahaya's.

"Kakei?" Looking beyond him, Rikuo recognized Saiga who was lounging comfortably against the doorframe. "Saiga?" Rikuo's eyebrows were drawn together as he frowned, standing up.

He realized that one person in particular was missing and his eyes narrowed, even as he repressed a sigh. Kazahaya simply never learned.

Without a word being passed between them, he grabbed a pair of socks and his shoes. He'd never disrobed the night before, so he was still in his solid white shirt and comfortably blue jeans. He slipped his feet into the socks before sticking each foot into a shoe. Lacing the laces up was a quick and easy chore, and all the while, he conferred with the other two men.

"Where is he?"

"Inokashira Part," Kakei said softly, the slightest bit of guilt flickering across his face. He'd known that Kazahaya would have trouble with this particular job, and he'd also known that Rikuo would be needed for it… which was why he had let the boy take the day off instead of making him help the easy-to-bait Kazahaya.

"The Keio Inokashia Line," Rikuo muttered to himself, Kakei and Saiga already gone from his thoughts. He grabbed his own keys and ran out the door, almost running into Saiga, not bothering to shut it behind him.

"I wonder if things will turn out alright?" Saiga commented, fixing his sunglass-covered eyes on the Seer before him.

"They will," Kakei said confidently, a soft smile coming to his face. He could have prevented this, and he knew it… But if he had prevented it, he'd also been aware that a certain theater event involving held hands would not have occurred.

It was okay for Kazahaya to trust Rikuo, and the boy had yet to learn that. Giving him a bit of help wasn't a bad thing, now, was it?

Saiga chuckled at the look on his lover's face. "Come on," he urged, "Let's get back to the store."

Kakei smiled at him in a pert manner. "It's closed," he said, tauntingly.

"The backroom is still open," Saiga said simply. And with that, Kakei was persuaded and the two left the apartment, locking the door behind them.

While they were unsure of what emotions and feelings Rikuo and Kazahaya might feel about the event, they were also both aware that it was a necessary event for the growth of both boys. Despite the fact that they'd gone on many side jobs together and worked regular hours in the drugstore with each other, neither of the two had warmed up to each other.

Instead, Kakei and Saiga had an endless supply of cheap entertainment in the form o the hapless Kazahaya falling for Rikuo's teasing again and again.

Rikuo was being childish, Kakei had decided, and saving Kazahaya in the usual abnormal circumstances had obviously not matured him… So he'd placed them in a situation where Rikuo would have to deal with both his past and present.

After all, Tsukiko-san had never really learned how to swim and it _was_ the night of the full moon.

"I'm sure they'll get along," Saiga said with a noncommittal shrug, easily guessing at what Kakei was worried about. "They're easy enough to figure out."

Kakei nodded. "I know… It's just…"

"I remember," Saiga said to him as they proceeded to the Green Drugstore. "You always told me that those two were meant to be together…"

Kakei nodded. "They were destined to meet, and they're destined to remain together."

Saiga chuckled again, "It's too bad that it wasn't one of your visions. Then Kazahaya might have had a one in a million chance of getting out of that."

The store owner smiled at his lover as they approached the front of the drugstore. Saiga wrapped his arms around the smaller man as he unlocked the door with a key he'd taken from his pocket.

"It is unfortunate, isn't it?" Kakei mused. "Yuko-san has never been wrong about such things – especially when involving destiny and hitsuzen…"

Saiga shook his head at the mention of the woman. He'd never disliked her, really, but nor could he ever say that he particularly liked her, either. She was a fearsome woman, and he'd long since learned to respect her, if only because of the fact that she could probably splinter him with the many acquaintances and whatnot that she had…

It wasn't a pleasant thought for the large man. That would, after all, amount to a lot of splinters.

He was distracted from his thoughts by Kakei, who had locked the door behind him after they'd entered.

"Now," the smaller man asked, looking up at him mischievously. "Where were we?"


End file.
